Menzei No
by plasticphoenix
Summary: Izumi invites herself to Kouji’s house. He ponder music and the blonde girl on his porch. Age appropriate Kouzmi.


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Menzei No

**Chapter One: Panku!**

Author Notes: Lookie a Kouzmi fic. Why? Because I felt like it. That and I so glomp Kouji-kun. He such the brooding type with a soft layer of fluffy underneath. And there's two of them! laughs I really have no preference between Kouji or Takuya when it comes to Izumi. I'm tending to lean towards Kouzmi just because I adore Bandana Boy so much. Please keep in mind that I have yet to see the entire series and that I slept thru most of my English classes. Ignore my bad grammar and spelling please.

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Copyrights: All characters belong to Toei and etc.

The sky was presently at the moment a brilliant blue with the summer sun sitting high in horizon. It was mid July and the air was humid. Minamoto Kouji was bored. There was nothing on the television during the afternoon but talk shows and cooking programs. Neither of which he enjoyed much. His stepmother was currently in there watch one or the other. He was bored with his video games, having either beaten them or stuck on one intensely hard level and had given up with much frustration. He had schoolwork he could be doing but he would likely spend Sunday evening rushing over it. His brother was helping a neighbor move and his friends were presently busy with other things. Well, most of the them.

At the moment Orimoto Izumi was sitting a few inches away from him reading mangas out of a weekly shoujo collection. Actually she was lying on her stomach, bare feet swinging lazily behind her. Her long blonde hair had been chaotically placed on top her head and kept in place with a number two pencil that his mother had provided shortly on arrival.

"Got a pencil," she had asked his stepmother casually.

It had amazed him. Amazed was the only word that was fitting.

"How did you do that," he asked in awe as he stared at her golden locks that stayed put on top her head.

"Magic."

He wasn't sure what she was doing at his home. She had just shown up. Uninvited and all.

"Kouji, you have a visitor." His father had said before leaving for work. Kouji unwilling made himself get up from in front of the chilly a/c and drag his feet to the front door. There stood Izumi, dressed in a sleeveless white dress made of cotton, her long hair pinned back in the front with a purple clip, and a large smile present on her face.

"You two have fun." His father had said before leaving, smiling at his oldest son from behind Izumi.

Izumi let out a laugh, loud enough for him to hear over the music of his mp3 player. It had been louder but Izumi had tugged the headphones off and told him he'd go deaf if he listened to the music too loud. He had stared at her, thinking her weird, but turned the volume down.

"What are you listening to," she questioned him, briefly looking up from the black and white images in front of her.

"Iibun."

"Really? I don't much like them much. Takuya-kun and I were talking about them the other day during lunch. He doesn't much like them either," She said to him as she turned the page.

He shrugged regardless if her attention was still address in his direction.

"The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things," he replied nonchalantly.

"I guess. What song are you listening to?"

"_Tanoshiku Sugosu_," he said.

"Is it any good," she questioned, her blue eyes now pointed toward him.

"It's the best off their second album."

"Is Iibun your favorite group," she asked.

"Yeah," he replied while wiping at the sweat forming on his brow.

"You have bad taste in music then." This she said very casually.

"Who asked you," he retorted sharply.

"No one," she replied just as casual as before.

He rolled his eyes, still thinking she was weird. She said nothing more for several minutes and continued reading her mangas. He observed she was half finished with the thick volume. She laughed again. Her lips curling up in bright smile as she turned another page. He watched her quietly as he listened to the lyrics from the next song, _Tachiiri-Kinshi_!

"Woke up this afternoon, with thoughts of you. The sun was bright and my lunch was cold. Thought yesterday was bad but it was nothing like today. Saw you, in that very same dress, holding his hand. I'm over you. If you can't tell. I'll say it again. I'm over you. Just can't get you out of my head so I must ask you to please keep out!"

This was probably his least favorite song off their fourth and current album. If this was the only song a new comer had heard he doubt they'd like Iibun as much as he did. It seemed to him they were trying to crossover to pop and didn't hit the mark. The only reason he had downloaded it was for the guitar solo towards the middle. It to him was the only highlight of the song.

Two more songs played, Satsumaimo and Machiai-Shitsu, both also from the new album before Izumi spoke again.

"Kouji-kun?"

The break in her silence caught him off guard and he realized he had been staring at her for the entire fifteen minutes. Embarrassed and bewildered he turned his face in the opposite direction.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get me something to drink," Izumi asked without taking her eyes away from the comics.

"Sure."

Kouji climbed to his feet, took of his headphones, and walked from the back porch into the kitchen. The cooling air of the a/c surrounded him and he wondered why he was sitting outside in the humid afternoon. He grumbled a little to himself when he recalled Izumi suggestion that they sit outside. His bare feet pressed against the cold tile floor and he fount himself just wanting to stay right there in the kitchen. He sighed realizing before the thought crossed him that Izumi was his guest (invited or not) and it was rude not to do what she wanted. If she wanted to sit out in the heat so would he.

In the kitchen he fount his stepmother reading a magazine and eating a grape Popsicle.

"Need something Kouji-chan," his mother asked him, her lips stained purple.

"Izumi wants something to drink. We got anything cold besides water?"

"I think there's a few sodas left in the fridge. I need to go to the grocery but I've decided to wait until your father gets home," his stepmother said.

Kouji opened the fridge and savored the cool breeze that came rushing out at him. He savored all the coldness in the house around him because he knew in a few moments he'd be smacked again with the July heat. "Izumi is weird," he thought to himself as he grabbed a cola from himself and a lemon-lime flavored soda for her.

He began to make his way back across the kitchen to the backdoor and he stopped and turned to his mother.

"You can go to the grocery right now if you want. We don't need to be supervised," Kouji said to the woman sitting at the cedar table.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that Kouji-chan. I know you're a good boy," his mother said, shaking her head to reinsure her son.

Kouji gave her a playful smile and replied "No, I'm not." His stepmother smiled in return knowing that he wasn't being serious.

When the dark haired boy arrived back outside he fount his guest had traded spots with him and was currently listening to his mp3 player. Her feet wigged back and forth and her head bopped along with the music. He noted that her toe nails had a faint coat of shimmering lilac finger nail polish and her lips were the color of strawberries. He momentarily wondered why he noticed little details in her appearance and quickly replaced it with annoyance. He had only been gone a few moment and she had taken it upon herself to grab his mp3 player.

She gave him a bright smile as he handed the soda to her. She took the cold can and briefly placed it against her forehead.

"Thank you, Kouji-kun."

"No problem."

Instead of sitting down right away he stood with his back pressed against the railing and took a large gulp of cola. It was flat but he drank it anyway. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Izumi. Watched her smile happily, take sips of her soft drink, and slightly dance to the music of Iibun. Small strands of blonde hair had managed to escape the magic of her hairdo and they dangled in front of her closed eyes. Izumi didn't seem to mind.

His own hair was tied back like he normally wore it and he wore a dark blue bandana on his head. He had been tempted to cut it all off as the heat waves came rolling in but decided against it. He knew once he cut it off he regret it. Beside as Junpei had said "How would we be able to tell you two apart?" Junpei had been referring to his twin brother, Kouichi.

Kouji hadn't seen his brother in several days. His brother was busy with school and a part time job. Kouji wished his brother was with him today. He wanted to know what his brother would make of Izumi's sudden appearance.

Izumi was Kouji's friend but they normally hung out with rest of the group. It felt odd to have her here without the other boys around. It was a feeling he couldn't explain to himself at the moment. That worried and confused him and all that caught him off guard. He was use to being in control.

He thought Izumi was a nice girl and was glad to have her as a friend but he couldn't recall her ever just coming to see him alone. It too caught him off guard.

When he saw her standing at his front door he wasn't sure what to say. As he remembered the large, sly smile on his father's face he made a mental note to set the man straight. Izumi was just there because she was bored and just as a friend.

"What song is number ten?" Izumi's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Huh," he asked as he heard her speak a moment ago but hadn't heard what she said.

"What song is number ten," she asked again.

"_Menzei No_," he replied, once again watching the blonde strands brush against her face.

"Odd name for a song but I like the beat. It's upbeat. Super upbeat." Izumi said and it made him smile.

"For someone who doesn't like the band you sure seem to be enjoying their music," Kouji said to the blonde headed girl.

He noticed a slight crimson blush that came to her cheeks but she quickly recovered by sticking her tongue out at him for a brief moment.

"You're so immature," he said as he sat down beside her. He was close enough that their legs touched, Izumi blushed slightly more. This he noted as well but paid little mind to it. Instead he reached across her lap and leaned his head towards her right side were his mp3 player sat. He scrolled down the play list and when he fount what he was looking for he pushed play and leaned back against the wall.

Izumi's bare and slightly tanned knee was pressed against his leg. He felt the goose bumps on her skin as well as the ones on his own but didn't move his leg. He thought this was odd behavior for himself and he lingered on his own weirdness until Izumi spoke.

"This song sounds very familiar," Izumi said and he could see she was still blushing. He felt that his face was hot too and he wondered if he was blushing too. But still he remained were he was. He thought to himself "She smells nice" and she did. She smelt of coconuts from her sun block and mangos from the body mist that Tomoki had gotten her for her birthday.

He took his thoughts away from her scent and answered her question "Its from that movie you made us watch last month. This song is the ending theme. Its not Iibun but I remembered you liked it and I was going to recorded it for you but I never had the time."

"Oh that's really, really, really sweet of you Kouji-kun," Izumi said and wrapped her arms around him in form of a hug. Quickly replacing her slight embarrassment with large amounts of gratitude and happiness.

Kouji was at a lost of what to do in return. By the time he had decided to do something her cell phone rang. Izumi let go of Kouji, looked at her caller ID, and then answered the phone.

"Hello Mom."

She paused as her mother spoke to her. Kouji couldn't really make out what her mother was saying and only caught every other word.

"Alright, I'll head home right now."

She paused again and laughed.

"You're so silly Mom. Love you too. Ciao." With that she hung up and clipped the phone back on her belt.

"You leaving," Kouji asked and he knew it was rather ridiculous to ask as he just heard her say she was heading home.

Izumi climbed to her feet and Kouji followed.

"Yup, Daddy is having company over and I got to be there. I'd invite you to join us but you'd be bored to death," Izumi said with a another trademark smile.

"I have to walk Kirameku soon anyway," Kouji replied and smiled as well. He bent over and picked up the discarded manga collection and handed to her.

"Thanks," she said and in return handed his mp3 back to him. He shook his head and gave it back to her.

"Take it and record that song off it. I can get it back from you next week," Kouji said. He expected her to say thanks, say goodbye to him and his mother, and then be on her way. Maybe even quickly pat Kirameku on the head before she started home. But Izumi surprised him. He fount that she could easily do that.

Instead of just saying goodbye she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you so much Kouji-kun! You're the best!" Izumi shouted as she ran thru the kitchen door. From here he watched her say goodbye to his stepmother and scratch his dog behind the ear before she slipped on her sandals at the front door and wave goodbye.

"Bye Kouji-kun," she shouted.

"See you later," he shouted in return.

"Come again," his mother shouted from the kitchen.

"Don't worry I will," Izumi said as she shut the front door behind her.

Kouji walked into the living room and watched Izumi happily skip down the sidewalk, mangas in one hand and mp3 player in the other. He laughed.

"She's weird," he said to his German Shepard.

"She's a nice girl. I like her," his mother said to her son as she joined him.

"Yeah. I like her too," Kouji said and he saw his mother reflection in the window and sighed at her smiling face.

"She isn't my girlfriend, you know. She's just a friend," Kouji said as he grabbed the dog's leash off the sofa were he last left it. He hooked the red leash to Kirameku's collar as the dog wagged his tail and they headed outside in the same direction Izumi had gone and hoping to catch up so he could walk her home.

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Ending AN: Fluffy! Such fluff! Drowning in fluff! I like fluff don't you? Obviously you do if you suffered thru this. I'd give you your money back but I am poor. I know there isn't loads of romance here. No kissy faces and/or etc. But come on they're kids on the show and kids in my story. They happen to be only a year older here. That's what I use in my defense. Nothing real important here. Or actual plot. Just fluff. Fluffy is good. Name him George. Any way I don't know his stepmother's name or the dog's name. It looked like a German Shepard to me. If it ain't I'll just call it a mutt for now. I also don't know the layout of the boy's house or if he has a porch. Everyone should have a porch. Don't you agree? All definitions and Japanese phrase are products of my _Webster's Compact Japanese Dictionary_. Including the title of this story. Which is weird. Iibun is not a real band (not that I know of) and all their song title and lyrics from Keep Out! are products of me.

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Vocabulary:

iibun - one's say, what one has to say

kirameku - glitter, sparkle, twinkle

machiai-shitsu- waiting room

menzei no - tax free (I named my story Tax Free!)

panku - flat tire (chapter names will be nonsense much like the title) 

satsumaimo - sweet potato

tanoshiku sugosu - have a good time

tachiiri-kinshi _- _keep out

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Peace & Love


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